Efficacy of treatment with a kinaesthetic ability training device on balance and mobility after stroke: a randomized controlled study.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether the addition of a kinaesthetic ability training device could enhance the effect of a conventional rehabilitation programme on balance and mobility in hemiparetic patients late after stroke.


METHODS
Randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded trial.


METHODS
The rehabilitation ward of a university hospital. Thirty hemiparetic patients (mean age (SD) of 57.4 (8.1) years) late after stroke (mean time since stroke (SD) 545.2 (99.9) days) were assigned randomly to an experimental or a control group.


METHODS
The control group (n = 15) participated in a conventional rehabilitation programme. The experimental group (n = 15) participated in balance training with a kinaesthetic ability training device in addition to a conventional rehabilitation programme for four weeks, five days a week.


METHODS
Kinaesthetic ability training static and dynamic balance indices, balance and lower extremity subscores of the Fugl-Meyer Stroke Assessment Instrument (FMA), total motor and locomotor subitem scores of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) were evaluated at baseline and after treatment.


RESULTS
The experimental group had greater improvement in measures of balance including static (P = 0.045) and dynamic balance index (P = 0.001) and FMA balance score (P = 0.001) than the control group. No between-group differences were detected in subscore of FMA, total motor and locomotor subscores of FIM. There were significant improvements in balance subscores of FMA, static and dynamic balance indexes in the experimental group and in sub-item scores of FIM and lower extremity scores of FMA in both groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Kinaesthetic ability training in addition to a conventional rehabilitation programme is effective in improving balance late after stroke. However, this improvement is not reflected in individual functional status.
Alptekin
N
N
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ankara University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
Gok
H
H
Geler-Kulcu
D
D
Dincer
G
G
D000368:Aged; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology; D053581:Muscle Strength Dynamometer; D010291:Paresis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000295:instrumentation; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D012046:Rehabilitation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology